Thursday morning on Colin Cowherd's radio show, three days after Van Gundy tweaked the commish with his comments about Stern's policy on coaches and players speaking out against the league, Stern gave a somber warning to one of the NBA's most opinionated coaches.

"I would just render a guess that we're not going to be hearing from him for the rest of the season," Stern told Cowherd without the slightest hint of emotion. "I think when he stops and reads what he said and realized what he did, he will say, 'No more.'"

Van Gundy's most recent comments came before the Magic's home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday — a game that Orlando center Dwight Howard missed after he was suspended for reaching the NBA's limit of 16 technical fouls.

Van Gundy said the league doesn't do enough to protect Howard, who has been fouled nearly 600 times this season without one flagrant-foul call. It's one thing to gripe about the treatment of your team's most prized asset — and Van Gundy made some valid points in his argument — but then the coach took it to another level.

"I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinions or free speech or anything," Van Gundy said.

Given the recent tensions in Egypt and Libya, it would be easy to add one and one and assume Van Gundy's comments were a reference to world leaders Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak, although Van Gundy vehemently denied he was making that association.

Whether he meant it or not, the implication that he could have been drawing those parallels means Van Gundy crossed the line with his comments, and Stern said Thursday that, while he didn't take Van Gundy's remarks personally, he's going to "engage in private discussions" with the Magic over what was said.

"You haven't had your skin thickened for as many years as I've had mine," Stern said. "Nothing is ever personal here. I'm not going to talk to Stan Van Gundy; I'm going to talk to the ownership of the team."

The commissioner also added that Van Gundy's remarks didn't make him angry, but, rather, upset, then fired a jab right back at Orlando's head coach, whose team is 41-24 and fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

"I see somebody whose team isn't performing, whose star player was suspended (and) who seems to be fraying," Stern said. "It made me sad . . . that whatever the pressures are that Stan is feeling, that he felt whatever position he's in to say something like this."

When asked what penalties he might levy on Van Gundy or the Magic, Stern gave a cold and clear reminder that he's still the boss — even if it means turning Van Gundy's remarks into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"I have whatever influence the bylaws of the constitution give me, and they're substantial," Stern said. "But I have a feeling that some modicum of self-restraint will cause Stan and the team for which he works to rein in his abhorrent behavior."

Van Gundy has been the recipient of numerous fines during his time in the league for his outspoken support of his players and his railing against the league's policies.

Most recently, in January, the league took $35,000 after Van Gundy famously said, "Let me get this straight; 'Damn' is a technical, but 'bulls--t' is okay?" after he felt Howard was unfairly levied a technical foul against the Knicks.

This time around, Van Gundy crossed a line that he had never broached before, and Stern's comments were unnerving to say the least, so it would appear Van Gundy may be in for an earful — or worse — from his team and the league in the near future.

i mean as a commish how can you verbally go after a coach and even an organization.

Was stern mentally abused in his youth.... its amazing that he cannot take any amount of criticism what so ever, or even allow the league to be criticized I cannot wait until he is no longer commish

smith&wesson

03-10-2011, 07:37 PM

stern is abusing his power and letting his ego get in the way of his judgment. those references to Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak were never made. they are asuming thats who he is talking about when he compared stern to some world leaders. that comparison could have been any world leader why must the asumption be made that he is comparing stern two those two specific world leaders?

kudos to stan for sticking up for his players. and i completly agree with him. when howard has been fouled close to 600 times this year and not ONE is a flagrant somthings gotta give. instead of stern actually paying attention to that he instead wants to place fines, and talk to svg's superiors. thats a ***** move stern. man up and stop being such a little *****. at least have a convo with stan himself, maybe what he is saying holds some truth, if your ego wasnt deffening your ears you might see that he has a point. straight up.

im not even a magic fan. could care less for stan but i call it how i see it and stern is not dealing with this the right way. what big **** ing suprise.

Hustlenomics

03-10-2011, 07:46 PM

i would spit on Sterns face!

The Bradley

03-10-2011, 07:46 PM

David Stern makes Bud Selig look good and that is incredibly hard to do

AddiX

03-10-2011, 07:48 PM

I can't stand stern, he's turned the NBA game into a Disney Land for scorers.

What warrants a foul today is pathetic. This dude is suppose to keep the league fair, the trades he has allowed and the things teams have done to put together rosters is a joke.

knicks_champ

03-10-2011, 08:01 PM

Stern said the right things. He has been getting bashed too much finally he steps up.

heatking

03-10-2011, 08:01 PM

Was he abused as a child, scared to smile, they called him ugly?

Trace

03-10-2011, 08:04 PM

Corporate censorship. Love it.

NYK|NYY

03-10-2011, 08:05 PM

I kind of like David Stern. (He gave us Ewing)

John Walls Era

03-10-2011, 08:05 PM

Say what you want about Stern. He knows how to expand the game (for better or worse... but we are still watching aren't we?). Lets see if SVG is going to keep quiet like the commish says he will or be a man.

John Walls Era

03-10-2011, 08:06 PM

I kind of like David Stern. (He gave us Ewing)

THIS! Why do Knicks fans hate him? Hes a Knicks fan too...

Lloyd Christmas

03-10-2011, 08:07 PM

You guys are all trippin. David Stern seems like a shady guy but he has been a good commissioner. Are draft lotteries fixed? Probably. Has he given orders to put a hit out on somebody? I would think so. Is he worse then Bud Selig? No.

THE GIPPER

03-10-2011, 08:07 PM

Stern is just horrible

FLMeth06

03-10-2011, 08:14 PM

David ! :clap:

ghettosean

03-10-2011, 08:22 PM

Come on guys Stern is the best thing in the NBA and he's holding **** down... LOL... Just messing... Stern is a little **** and he needs to go. I wish the fans had a say cause if we did he wouldn't have a job right now. STUPID ****ING PIECE OF **** HE IS!!! ***** RIGGED THE DUNK CONTEST TOO!!! STUPID **** HAS GOT TO GO!!!

ghettosean

03-10-2011, 08:23 PM

Was he abused as a child, scared to smile, they called him ugly?
I hate the heat but I love the NAS reference!!!

Stuckey#3

03-10-2011, 08:28 PM

Stern is too quick to sacrifice the competetiveness of the game for public image and popularity. I think he has fixed drafts, advised refs, and played favoritism more times than I can count. Stern is a greedy **** who only cares about the NBA brand and making money. Money is important but you should never sacrifice the integrity of the game... not to the level that he has.

bulls_world23

03-10-2011, 08:31 PM

Stern :facepalm:

THE MTL

03-10-2011, 08:31 PM

David Stern is a FREAKING dictatorship! I cannot stand him and the fans across the NBA cannot stand him. He wants players to be mindless little zombies. Thats why everything he comes to speak at Allstar games, Finals, or NBA Draft he is ALWAYS booed!

bovice163

03-10-2011, 08:33 PM

Sounds like Stern has some thugs waiting for SVG if he speaks out of line. :laugh2:

nate2usmc

03-10-2011, 08:36 PM

Yeah the draft lottery and the technical foul BS need to go. Regarding SVG, no one takes a beating like the 5 does and it's completely understandable when D12 gets frustrated when guys are hangin on to him or doin whatever it takes to slow him down. But you can't touch a guard. **** is stupid.
Love the sig, bulls world :laugh:

papipapsmanny

03-10-2011, 08:43 PM

I want the whole hand checking rule gone with I liked basketball before 2000.

Now offensive players can do whatever they want and if you do not let them it is a foul

BigBlueCrew

03-10-2011, 09:03 PM

THIS! Why do Knicks fans hate him? Hes a Knicks fan too...

I hate him (I'm a Knicks fan). Ive never believed that David Stern was a knicks fan. If he is, he is the worse fan in the world.

I still remember the Knicks - Miami fight in 1997. Suspended for coming off the bench, BULLSH*T!!!

Iggz53

03-10-2011, 11:35 PM

Stern is a ****stain on the sport of basketball

njnets

03-10-2011, 11:40 PM

i feel that his comments are just purely immature. to say "we arent going to be hearing from him again" ... are you kidding me? stuff like that makes me hate him even more, along with the fixing of some certain things in the nba, which i will not get into now. i have never liked him and this even furthers that notion.

ldawg

03-11-2011, 12:00 AM

stern is a lil round prick, with is fixed league. f that power flexing prick. stan is right and i stand by him. why get angry when he speak the truth?

hgtiger32

03-11-2011, 12:12 AM

I agree with SVG's comments about Dwight but I also support Stern. He has vastly improved the NBA over the years (if you don't believe me, read Bill Simmons Book of Basketball) and the NBA wouldn't be where it is without him

SMH!

03-11-2011, 12:17 AM

I love stan van after reading this, I hate stern, he needs to leave

Ovratd1up

03-11-2011, 12:19 AM

I agree with SVG's comments about Dwight but I also support Stern. He has vastly improved the NBA over the years (if you don't believe me, read Bill Simmons Book of Basketball) and the NBA wouldn't be where it is without him

It's all for marketing interest :shrug:

tr4shb0t

03-11-2011, 12:26 AM

Stern has done a pretty good job with the nba. The only problem is he made it a business before a sport. I think there is a healthy balance between business and sport, but the last decade has been too much about greed and promoting new and upcoming players rather than legitimate basketball.

I can only imagine how hard it is for a lot of coaches and players to hold their tongue about the illegitimacy of the league.

This will probably haunt SVG until he retires. Sad but true.

hgtiger32

03-11-2011, 12:54 AM

It's all for marketing interest :shrug:

its more than the marketing. i can't get into it now cuz the book isn't in front of me, but it's suite obvious while reading it that stern helped big time

Shkelqim

03-11-2011, 12:55 AM

You can't make negative comments about your boss in front of him

Stan needs to learn to shut up and make sure his team performs.

whitemamba33

03-11-2011, 12:59 AM

....shoulder shrug....

Did I miss something here? I don't even really see what Stern said that was all that bad. MUCH worse has been directed at him and the refs in the past. People need to put their bias aside and let logic and reasoning speak for itself.

bmd1101

03-11-2011, 01:04 AM

You can't make negative comments about your boss in front of him

Stan needs to learn to shut up and make sure his team performs.

Stern isn't his boss, his contract is payed by the Magic not the NBA.

justinnum1

03-11-2011, 01:11 AM

i think this is awesome...stern dissing van gundy, lol

Mochalman

03-11-2011, 01:15 AM

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/560696/Dictators-tz-290.jpg

whitemamba33

03-11-2011, 01:35 AM

Stern isn't his boss, his contract is payed by the Magic not the NBA.

You can't see the obvious flaw in this statement? Obviously the NBA isn't his direct boss, but the front office of the Orlando Magic answers to some to...it is a chain of command.

When SVG gets fined, it's not Orlando that is fining him.

Anilyzer

03-11-2011, 01:45 AM

Well, the NBA is certainly not a democracy. And Stern obviously hates to be questioned or criticized, AND apparently he has the power to fine or suspend anybody associated with the NBA who says anything he doesn't like--in the media or elsewhere. So in that sense he's just underlining what Van Gundy said with a giant red marker and actively demonstrating what he's talking about.

Although SVG's remark seems wildly overstated, there IS actually a similarity to the NBA and the Gaddafi or Mbarak regimes: the existing order of things can't withstand free speech from the inside. If coaches/players/owners and GMs can just speak their mind freely that is apparently the cardinal sin.

We do all know that Jeff Van Gundy got completely shutdown with the largest fine in history and the threat of a LIFTIME ban for speaking to the media about the referee "briefings" that he was shown by a senior official--emails sent to officials telling them how to call games, even on specific players.

Also the Donaghy thing was swept under the carpet--even though it was clear that games were fixed, Stern trotted out there in front of the cameras and said smarmily that Donaghy had "provided information" about games and that was it.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with an NBA gambling expert (Voulgaris):

What do you think about how the NBA has handled the Tim Donaghy investigation?

From a league perspective they have done a great job sweeping this scandal under the rug, and downplaying it.

I keep on reading how Donaghy "provided information" as though this was the crux of the scandal.

The guy fixed games. He didn't "provide information" he bet on games he was working, and made calls to insure he would win those bets. It's pretty basic stuff but the NBA has somehow turned the focus of the whole investigation away from this and instead focused on the "inside information" angle.

I understand what the league is trying to do, I think in this instance the truth doesn't jibe with the league's best interest. In that respect the League and the Commissioner have done a great job of downplaying the scandal.

Be very interested in your reaction to the retroactive analysis here. Does that jive with your own?

As far as the retroactive analysis in the article you linked to goes, some of the line moves that are mentioned the line moves were due to injuries. After the scandal broke I have done a lot of research regarding what games were likely fixed and which ones weren't. I have also made some contacts with some bookmakers who have given me information on some of the games Donaghy bet -- some of the stuff in that article is just conjecture and speculation, but some of it is accurate.

I can say with a large degree of certainty that this game was one of the more blatant fixes. That Phoenix vs. New York game was a game that I was told was bet by the crew associated with [alleged Donaghy co-conspirator James "Baa Baa"] Batista, it was also a game where Phoenix shot 14 free throws in regulation and New York shot 36.

There aren't that many games in the last five or six years where a team had a 20 point free throw edge. In a sample of 6,373 games I show there being 167 games where the home team shot 20 more free throws than the visiting team, and 78 where the visiting team shot more. I hate trotting out numbers to prove my point because you can cherry-pick whatever statistics you want, but I think if someone with an objective eye goes and watches this game, focusing on Donaghy especially they'll come away thinking that it was pretty clear the Knicks got a huge advantage in the game.

Here are couple of other Tim Donaghy games that may make for some interesting viewing. Miami at New York on February 26, 2007. There was a 39 to eight free throw disparity in that one.

Tim Donaghy refereed a 2003 Knicks at Lakers game that had a 47 to six free throw disparity.

In a 2006 Orlando at Utah game refereed by Tim Donaghy, there were two technicals called against Orlando in the final two seconds of the game.

Most of the information I have about Donaghy is from the 2006-2007 season and its plain as day to me that Donaghy did change the outcome of the games, I don't see how any rational human being could argue otherwise.

Also, it seems incredible that Stern would go after SVG directly and say "uh oh, not doing your job, lagging in the standings... uh oh" as if to hint that he could be fired or something.

That is ridiculous for an NBA commissioner, it really is, especially if he insists on a one-way discussion and wants to fine anybody who talks back.

Punk

03-11-2011, 02:02 AM

Fact is the NBA has probably had the most questionable crap this season and because someone has the guys to publicly call him out on it, he shuts them up instead of handing the situation.

Fact is, there is alot of one sided officiating this year. You would think with the Tim Donaghy situation, he would look into it. There is a lockout looming and he's acting like a sensitive *****.

There was not even a reason to publicly basically say that he would make sure SVG got fired if he didn't shut up.

ZebraCity916

03-11-2011, 02:06 AM

I kind of like David Stern. (He gave us Ewing)

:mad:

Arch Stanton

03-11-2011, 02:12 AM

I think Stern is nervous because many NBA owners are APPARENTLY fed up with him and are looking to get him to step down. This is just Stern flexing his muscles sort of like the Indonesian government did when they threw Shappelle Corby in a shithole Bali prison for 20 years for doing nothing wrong.

pd1dish

03-11-2011, 02:33 AM

i dont like the way Stern has shaped the NBA, but when you are getting bashed, you have the right to stand up for yourself and thats all hes doing.

MagicHero3

03-11-2011, 11:57 AM

hes afraid of SVG bc hes right. His reaction isnt a fine bc its personal? that doesnt make sense, shouldnt it be the opposite? and stern does the "Im not gona talk to Stan Van Gundy, Im going to talk to his boss's!"

yeeaaahhh that sounds like a coward to me. Also, taking a shot at my Magic this year? saying were down? were like 2.5 or 3 games behind MIAMI who have a ridiculous record. The East is Beastin this year, theres no doubt. I have mad respect for stan van gundy bc even though he can complain a little much, he always tells it like it is. I wish Stern could read this forum.

Double_R

03-11-2011, 12:20 PM

Stern vindicated everything that Stan said, period. The guy is an absolute joke and I could go on for ever about how terrible this guy is. I think that this might be the first topic I have seen in a while, where most everyone on here agrees.

Shmontaine

03-11-2011, 12:30 PM

If SVG is serious, file an official complaint, hire an attorney, and do things the American way... Sue

Bickering to the media is just inviting fines and scrutiny... SVG is a moron for saying this given his history with Stern... And people wonder why D12 can't keep his mouth shut during games... When your coach can't play by the rules and respect the game, don't expect your star to be a model NBA player.. It starts from the top... SVG has as much to do with D12's technical fouls as D12 does, he excuses D12 for his actions, and we wonder why D12 hasn't changed.. shut up already...

Crackadalic

03-11-2011, 01:27 PM

David Stern or Vince McMahon? Id choose Vince. At least he admits the WWE is riged:D

Shmontaine

03-11-2011, 04:58 PM

David Stern or Vince McMahon? Id choose Vince. At least he admits the WWE is riged:D

I think many in vegas might have a problem with your comparison...

Anilyzer

03-11-2011, 08:08 PM

From what I understand, and from what you can see today, the NBA was always kind of a "counter-culture" type of thing--it really brought a very special kind of interracial freedom to sports and to society in general. Players like Dr J in history must've bee like rock stars, cultural icons who could be bigger and more impressive than the presidents, singers and movie stars hand picked by the establishment. Always a hint of danger in that, especially in a country where there are still ugly racial undercurrents (see also: Republican contention in the media that Obama is a Kenyan, not an American).

Anyhow... so yeah it is slightly gross that Stern makes the NBA sooooooo much about Madison Avenue and cash cash cash... And then that he adopts this kind of conservative authoritarian stance that has a zero-tolerance policy for any type of criticism or back-talk.

Anilyzer

03-11-2011, 08:10 PM

:clap: *yaaaay*

There that is the sound of an internet sprite animation applauding Stern. *wheeee* Get in the Hall of Fame you awesome negotiator and deal maker!!!

Ovratd1up

03-11-2011, 08:38 PM

You can't make negative comments about your boss in front of him

Stan needs to learn to shut up and make sure his team performs.

If you want nothing to ever change, this would be the way to go.

How about, we all need to learn to speak the **** up?

Klivlend

03-11-2011, 08:45 PM

I'd smash take David Sterns face into a car winshield and then take is mother out to a nice seafood dinner and NEVER call her again!!!

Anchorman anyone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO0mEG5gwVQ

Allstar21

03-11-2011, 09:12 PM

David Stern is killing the NBA....The blame for this upcoming lockout should be put solely on his terrible mis-management. He says the NBA teams are in such dire financial states. Why does he and his 25mill a year salary take zero blame for this?!